PERMANENT MISSION OF THE REPUBLIC OF SIERRA LEONE TO THE

Consolidated Statement

by H.E. DR. ALIE KABBA PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE at the Joint General Debate of the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee)

UNGA 75th Session

October 14, 2020

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H.E. Mr. Collen Vixen Kelapile, Chairperson of the Special Political and Decolonization Committee, Excellencies, Distinguished delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen,

At the onset, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you Mr. Chair and Members of your Bureau on assuming the responsibility of steering the affairs of the Special Political and Decolonization Committee.

I would like to assure you of my delegation’s unwavering support to ensure a constructive engagement for a successful conclusion of the 4th Committee’s work during the 75th Session of the General Assembly.

I would like to also take this opportunity to convey thanks and appreciation to H.E. Mr. Mohammed Hussein Bahr Aluloom Ambassador and Permanent Representative of to the United Nations, and Chair of the Fourth Committee for the 74th UNGA for providing a fruitful leadership, particularly in these extra- ordinary times of the COVID-19 pandemic. My Delegation also wishes to commend the Secretary General for his invaluable support to the work of the Special Political and Decolonization Committee and welcomes his reports on the respective agenda items.

Mr. Chairman,

Speaking in respect of Agenda item 55 – “Comprehensive review of Special Political Missions”, like many other delegations, Sierra Leone concurs with the view that the international peace and security environment during these unusual moments of COVID-19 Pandemic has indeed accentuated the need for greater cooperation to assure the future of a United Nations that engenders collective commitment to multilateral actions. We should in this regard, continue to promote and sustain our cooperation geared toward the containment of the COVID-19 pandemic, and provide critical support to Special Political Missions to facilitate fruitful dialogue among conflict parties in their respective operational areas. To that end, Sierra Leone commends the Secretary General’s global call for ceasefire, and reiterates the need to push the initiative with vigor and enthusiasm, as effort continues to be made toward strengthening multilateral cooperation in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Secretary General’s global call for ceasefire is a momentous opportunity that must be leveraged on international effort to restore peace in conflict zones around the world. This call resonates with the African Union’s commitment to silence the Guns in Africa, and create a peaceful and secure environment. On that note, while acknowledging the effort of madam Stephanie Turco Williams as the Secretary General’s acting Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in (UNSMIL) in the overall international drive to restore peace and stability in Libya, Sierra Leone would like to take this opportunity to further encourage the Secretary General to appoint a substantive Special Representative to UNSMIL to rekindle effort toward a lasting peace in Libya.

Mr. Chairman

The impact of the pandemic on fragile communities, especially with respect to vulnerable groups like women and youths in regards to their roles on international peace and security issues has been significantly profound. In that connection, as we commemorate this year, the 20th anniversary of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000), and the 5th anniversary of Security Council resolution 2250 (2015), which respectively recognized on the one hand, the need to mainstream gender perspective into peacekeeping operations, and takes into account gender considerations and the rights of women and girls throughout peacekeeping missions; and on the other hand, recognised among others, the consequential contribution of youths in the maintenance and promotion of international peace and security. This meeting provides a platform to remind ourselves about the strategic importance of integrating gender and youth perspectives into the overall operations of Special Political Missions.

Mr. Chairman, Special political Missions continue to be an indispensable mechanism for advancing the United Nations conflict resolution and peace building initiatives around the world. In many of the most unstable and complex situations, Special Political Missions provide critical support to Member States in averting the acceleration of crises, enabling dialogue and advancing long- term efforts to ensure sustainable peace. In order to accomplish such objectives, Special Political Missions need to work with Civil Society actors, national institutions and sub-regional and regional organisations. In that regard, Sierra Leone ceases the opportunity of this session to commend the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for West Africa and the Sahel for his continued effort to support national and regional efforts to sustain peace in the region. We remain hopeful that sub-regional and regional peace architectures will be given the required support in ongoing efforts to restore constitutional authority in Mali within a reasonable time frame.

Mr Chairman,

With regards to the cluster of issues under agenda item 61, Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, as a Bureau Member of the Committee of 24, Sierra Leone will continue to make meaningful contributions with a view to achieving the objectives of the Committee.

As the third international decade for the eradication of colonialism draws to a closure, Sierra Leone takes this opportunity to remind member States that we owe it not just to the people in the seventeen Non Self Governing Territories still grappling with the undesirable socio economic and political circumstances of colonialism, but the thought of people living under the vestiges of colonialism under any shape or form in this Twenty First Century, will continue to be a constant blight on our conscience and moral sense of justice, liberty and our belief in the inalienable right to self-determination, enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations. It is upon us Member States and indeed the Administering Powers to take advantage of the fourth international decade for the eradication colonialism to take concrete actions to assist those territories still yearning for self- determination. It is one thing to commit in these forums to the principles and ideals espoused in the UN resolution on implementation of the declaration on the granting of independence to colonial countries and peoples as contained in resolution 1514, yet it wholly requires another set of scruples to back such belief with actions that will result in the granting of independence to those desiring to be masters of their own destinies.

As underscored by H.E. Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, Vice President of Sierra Leone, in his address to the General Assembly last month, QUOTE “Sierra Leone reiterates its commitment to multilateral efforts geared toward the total elimination of colonialism in all its forms and manifestation, and supports the adopted decade plan of action. If we are to remain true to the fundamental principles of the United Nations that is fit for purpose, then it becomes absolutely necessary to relegate the chapter of colonialism to history within the period 2021-2030. The global paradigm of engagement, partnership, multilateralism, and mutual respect for the aspirations and views of all peoples must prevail.” END OF QUOTE

Mr. Chairman,

Consistent with our common objective of assisting all parties concerned in achieving a just, lasting, and mutually acceptable political solution to the prolonged dispute over Western Sahara, which the Chairperson of the African Union Commission H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat described as “the oldest unresolved conflict on the continent”, my delegation is of the view that such a solution is well overdue. Sierra Leone is gravely concerned about report of strict media blockade, denial of access by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and other human rights monitoring bodies to Western Sahara, as well as the continued trend of restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association in Western Sahara, as outlined by the Secretary General’s report (S/2020/938, para 68-69).

In this regard, we would like to express our unqualified support for Security Council resolution 2494 (2019), by which the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) until 31 October 2020. While we look forward to the fulfillment of the SG’s commitment to appoint a new Personal Envoy for Western Sahara to rekindle the new momentum begun in the political process, Sierra Leone wish to encourage the resumption of consultations as a matter of extreme urgency to achieve a realistic, practicable and enduring political solution to the question of Western Sahara.

My delegation welcomes the result of the referendum conducted in New Caledonia on 4th October 2020, expressing the desire of the people to be part of France in accordance with the Nouméa Accord. We commend France, the Administering Power and the people of New Caledonia for their collaborative engagement to arrive at such outcome.

Regarding the situation in French Polynesia, while noting the effects of the COVID- 19 pandemic as a factor for postponing elections planned for March this year, we wish to re-echo the call on the Administering Power to accelerate the effort toward achieving rapid progress for a fair and effective self-determination process, in the context of which a roadmap for self-determination would be established.

Mr Chairman,

As we crave for the granting of self-determination to Non-Self-Governing Territories, we have to be mindful of the long-term impact of the economic and many other forms of activities conducted by Administering Powers that impinge on the interests of the people of Non-Self-Governing Territories.

Rightly so, commenting on Agenda item 58, “Economic and other activities which affect the interests of the people in Non-Self Governing Territories”, my delegation takes this opportunity to underscore the point that the process of a meaningful progress toward a fair and effective self-determination is inextricably linked with measures to safeguard and guarantee the inalienable right of the peoples of the Non-Self-Governing Territories to their natural resources and to establish and maintain control over the future development of those resources. We encourage Administering Powers to advance the economic viability of the territories under their control by strengthening and diversifying the economies of NSGTs in the interest of their peoples, especially the indigenous populations. We remain hopeful that measures will also be taken to adequately compensate populations in NSGTs that have been severely affected military activities in those territories.

Mr Chairman,

With respect to the Palestinian question, my delegation remains supportive of the two-state solution and the relevant security resolutions, where both Palestine and Israel can live side by side in peace and security along the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian State. Sierra Leone believes that the two-state solution is the only viable and tenable path to an enduring peace in the Middle East. We therefore encourage Israel and Palestine to return to the established international mechanisms to achieve a negotiated settlement of the Israeli/ Palestinian conflict.

Mr. Chairman,

Speaking in connection with Agenda item 52, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, my delegation takes due cognizance of the report of the Commissioner General of UNRWA and recognises the critical role of the Agency as a subsidiary body of the General Assembly charged with providing livelihood support for millions of Palestinian Refugees around the Middle East, since the inception of the Palestine/Israeli conflict. The dire socio- economic conditions of Palestine refugees in the Middle East against the backdrop of continued lack of sufficient resources for UNRWA to adequately respond to the depressing situation of Palestine refugees is a grave matter of concern to the delegation of Sierra Leone.

My delegation would therefore like to express thanks to Member States and inter- governmental organisations that continue to provide the much-needed support for the operations of UNRWA, and calls on this committee to request the General Assembly to take a serious look at considering means to provide adequate, sustainable and predictable funds for the operations of the Agency.

In closing, let me reiterate my delegation’s full commitment to work in close collaboration with you and the Committee of 24.

I thank you